Eugenie Jones - Players Disc 1, Disc 2

Album: Players Disc 1
Styles: Vocal
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 39:13
Size: 90,3 MB
Art: Front

(2:39) 1. I Got Rhythm
(5:31) 2. There Are Thorns
(6:40) 3. Multicolored Blue
(4:10) 4. Ultimo Baile En Casa
(5:16) 5. You Can Have Him
(5:19) 6. Skipping Under Starlight
(4:27) 7. The Gift Of Life
(5:08) 8. Ey Brother

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Album: Players Disc 2
Time: 30:33
Size: 70,4 MB

(4:50) 1. Sittin' At The Bar
(3:25) 2. Blue Skies
(4:25) 3. Red Dress
(5:17) 4. But I Do
(4:22) 5. As Long As
(4:26) 6. One More Night To Burn
(3:44) 7. Do I Move You

Youth is an overrated attribute in jazz. The advantages that accrue with a little mileage have been particularly evident in the emergence of several excellent women singers since the turn of the century, including René Marie, Gail Pettis, and Denise Donatelli. Eugenie Jones, a Seattle-area vocalist and songwriter, is a more-than-worthy addition to their ranks. She made a strong impression with her 2013 debut Black Lace Blue Tears and followed up with 2015’s confident and consistently engaging Come Out Swingin’. Her self-produced third album, Players, is more than impressive, pairing Jones with a far-flung, bicoastal, multi-generational cast of, well, players who sound deeply in sync with her aims. It’s a two-disc album focusing on her originals, and if every song isn’t set to a memorable melody, her fine-grained voice and keen attention to her collaborators keeps the ear piqued.

Highlights include Jones’ composition “Sittin’ at the Bar,” a skillfully etched scene of a woman seeking musical succor at the end of a long day. Accompanied by pianist James Weidman, bassist Reggie Workman, drummer Bernard Purdie, trombonists Julian Priester and Jovan Johnson, and tenor saxophonist Asaf Even Zur, Jones sounds right at home among the august company. “Red Dress,” a passionate self-embrace, pairs her lustrous voice with Marquis Hill’s poised and silky trumpet. She’s equally effective on standards, from a funky arrangement of Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies” to a world-weary take on his kiss-off “You Can Have Him.”
By Andrew Gilbert https://jazztimes.com/reviews/albums/eugenie-jones-players-openmic/

Players Disc 1, Disc 2

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Eugenie Jones - Black Lace Blue Tears

Styles: Vocal Jazz
Year: 2013
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:17
Size: 120,8 MB
Art: Front

(5:06)  1. A Good Day
(4:38)  2. Can You Dance?
(5:01)  3. Take 5
(6:02)  4. All the King's Men
(3:45)  5. So Hard to Find
(4:24)  6. Black Lace Blue Tears
(4:41)  7. Perfect
(4:51)  8. I Want One
(4:42)  9. In a Shot of Tequila or Two
(5:10) 10. My Funny Valentine
(3:52) 11. Sat'day Night Blues

Seattle-based vocalist/composer/arranger Eugenie Jones didn't start out as such. A business and marketing major in college, Jones graduated and went on to be a business owner, consultant and all-around marketing roustabout. But life is never so simple and after her mother's death, Jones decided that it was time to pursue music as a vocation. On her debut Black Lace Blue Tears Jones flexes all of her creative muscles assembling nine originals and interpreting two standards, all at a high level. Jones taps the talent pool of the Seattle area for her support, snaring pianist Bill Anschell, bassist Clipper Anderson, drummer Mark Ivester and guitarist Michael Powers (all ubiquitous at Origin Arts). How she avoided the gravitational pull of the label is a modern marvel. That said, Jones proves she can compose in any vocal idiom infused with jazz, as shown on the Bacharach/David-tinged "A Good Day" or the Stevie Wonder-inspired "Can You Dance." "All The Kings Men" possesses an "Angel Eyes" quality, minor key and smoky, while the title cut reflects Linda Ronstadt. Clipper Anderson's deft bass seamlessly transforms the traditional jazz orientation into a crossover mode where nothing is lost in the translation.

Jones' interpretation of Paul Desmond's "Take Five" uses the lyrics written by Dave and Iola Brubeck. She removes the odd meter element, smoothing the piece with a warm and liquid delivery. "My Funny Valentine" holds up well to her interpretation, surely the trillionth performance of such. Jones is both daring and naive to cover the time honored ballad, but capably pulls it off because of her sheer and fearless talent. It is difficult to hear Black Lace Blue Tears as a debut recording because of its refinement. It should be interesting to see how Jones develops from here. ~ C.Michael Bailey  http://www.allaboutjazz.com/black-lace-blue-tears-eugenie-jones-self-produced-review-by-c-michael-bailey.php

Personnel: Eugenie Jones: vocals; Bill Anschell: piano; Clipper Anderson: bass; Mark Ivester: drums; Michael Powers: guitar.

Black Lace Blue Tears

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Eugenie Jones - Come Out Swingin'

Size: 100,9 MB
Time: 43:18
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2015
Styles: Soul Jazz, Vocals
Art: Front

01. Swing Me (5:17)
02. A Way About You (3:42)
03. Sweet Summer Love (4:37)
04. 24/7 (4:11)
05. I’m Alright/Samba Ending (5:57)
06. I Could Get Lost In Your Eyes (5:50)
07. Rain Rain Don’t Go Away (4:41)
08. Run Devil Run (4:19)
09. I'm Alright - Radio Edit (4:40)

With her lavishly praised 2013 debut album, Black Lace Blue Tears, behind her jazz vocalist and lyrist Eugenie Jones immediately faced questions about whether she was a one-hit wonder or a real contender. Sure, she displayed quick rhythmic reflexes, a silken tone, and real songwriting savvy, but did Jones have what it takes to go the distance, to sustain a career in jazz’s cruelly competitive ring. Her even more impressive second album, Come Out Swingin’, makes a persuasive case for Jones’s status as a heavyweight talent. Seasoned by several years of steady work following the release of Black Lace, the Seattle-area singer displays the rhythmic authority, emotional insight, and melodic invention of an artist who can hold her own in any company.

"Having the one project to my credit, I wondered if it was that a fluke, do I really have a gift, can I continue? Almost immediately I started writing again and put those questions to rest. This album was a deliberate attempt to continue to grow and progress. I set that desire for improvement as a bull’s-eye to shoot for and kept that focus throughout each step of this project.”

For starters, Jones possesses the wisdom to keep essentially the same battle-tested band in her corner, most importantly the incisive and consummately supportive pianist/arranger Bill Anschell. Veteran bassist Clipper Anderson and versatile guitarist Michael Powers also returned to action. Two new faces join the core band: veteran mulit-talented horn man, Jay Thomas and the new face of drummer D’Vonne Lewis, a rising force on the Seattle scene who plays with tremendous poise and spirit.

In this high-energy swing project, it doesn’t take long for the musicians’ combustible chemistry to ignite. Like her first album, Come Out Swingin’ focuses on Jones’s original songs. She announces her rhythmic agenda with the first track, “Swing Me,” a self-possessed celebration of unbridled desire. Her brief, exciting version of the standard “All of Me,” almost serves as a thematic preamble to her slinky “A Way About You,” a song that could easily be mistaken for a sophisticated piece of Bacharach/David.

Jones cast a wide net when it comes to finding inspiration as a composer. She takes the smoldering up a notch with “Sweet Summer Love,” a song that emerged after watching Marvin Ritt’s moody and sweat-streaked 1958 film The Long Hot Summer, a kind of mashup of Faulkner and Tennessee Williams. Her love of cinema returns on “Rain Rain Don’t Go Away,” a seductive song about self-comfort that never lapses into self-pity. She’s at her most sleek and self-assured on “I’m Alright,” a soulful declaration of independence propelled by some tasty D’Vonne Lewis trap work. With a tinge of sweetness and sass, Jones’s “24/7” brings contemporary issues of sexuality into the discussion while her, “I Could Get Lost In Your Eyes,” offers a beautifully crafted ballad for listeners to relish and pine over. The final original offering, “Run Devil Run” opens with an anachronistic needle-drop, spinning a tale of relationship reckoning while veteran guitarist Michal Powers sets a cool swinging tempo throughout. By closing the album with a searing version of James Brown’s 1966 chart-topping R&B hit “It's a Man’s World” Jones leaves listeners wondering just what else she’s got up her sleeves. Belting R&B with such authority after her sultry jazz vocals Jones seems to promise more revelations in the future.

“Black Lace was a look into my personality, and begins a story. Come Out Swingin’ continues that story. And of course the more you tell a story, the deeper you go. That’s what’s happening here in terms of lyrics and songs.”

Come Out Swingin'

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